Friday, September 30, 2011

Fiber Arts Friday: My First Socks

As promised last week, I will tell you about my first socks... :-D

But, ok. Yes, it's true, if you count the Duck Feet I made for my nephew, these are technically my second pair of socks. But since these are supposed to fit a specific set of feet and not just be cute, these are My First Socks. :-)

This first sock was cast on using the figure 8 method. It was a little loose, and I wasn't able to tighten it up later as the pattern suggested. I wanted a square toe, so perhaps it's because I cast on so many stitches?

The heal construction was almost like magic to me. I was just amazed as I saw the heel develop. Then after it was finished, the sock actually fit my intended foot. Holy Cow. Magic I tell you! Magic!!

Hubba won't let me take a photo, so you'll just have to believe that it fits him. ;-)

I employed a generous use of lifelines on this sock. I've come to appreciate the benefits of ripping out. But especially the benefit of ripping out to only the point of last-known-success and the benefit of having all of the stitches strung-together-in-the-right-orientation. Yea, lifelines are definitely worth the time.

The only mistake I know of is that I did not finish the heel with the one remaining stitch on the correct side. I think I missed one of the K2Tog's with the gusset at the beginning. So I didn't have the one stitch on the knit side to join with the instep and "prevent a hole."

I just have a few more rounds to go before I bind-off. So I'm pretty excited about this little sock. :-D

I hope you're having a great Fiber Arts Friday. Please be certain to see what everyone else has been up to over at Wisdom Begins in Wonder. :-)

@Vivian - when I finished the heal, I danced into the room where Hubba was. He asked my what was going on. I said hand over your foot. Then I danced some more... Sorta my version of an End-Zone Dance. ;-)

@WWG - Well, I don't know if they're addictive yet. But certainly the near-instant gratification is a step in the right direction. ;-)

@Marushka - I'm afraid you might be right. He originially thoguht the sock thing was sorta silly, but now that he sees they will fit, he's getting excited for me to be finished.

Hooray for hand knit socks! Yours is looking great, I usually close the holes by picking up a stitch or two, work them through the back to twist them so they are a little tighter and close the hole better and jus k2tog to get rid of them on the next round.

"the point of last-known-success"...I love this phrase! Your sock looks great. It is a slippery slope so be careful, socks are definitely addictive. And so are hats! Hopefully you've embarked on a glorious path to lots of snuggly feets. Thanks for your kindness.

About Me

My husband and I returned to Colorado in 2009 to live a simpler life.
Right now the goal of simple means we are busy. Busy fixing up our farm, raising Alpacas and Tibetan Mastiffs, racing wheelchairs, testing software and building Alpacamundo.
This blog is about these and the other things going on in my head. I hope you find it interesting, useful and inspiring.